Improvement in machinery for the manufacture of paper



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ELIAS T. FORD. Or sTILLwATnR, New YORK.

I Letters Patent No. 83,617, dated I Vocembefr 3, l1868.

IMPROVEMENT IN MACHINERY ron THE MANUFACTURE orl PAPER. i

The Schedule referred to in these Letters Patent and making part of the same.

To all .whom it concerti.: Be itknown .that I, ELIAS` T. FORD, of Stillwater, in -the countypf Saratoga, and State of New York, have inventedfcertain new and useful Improvements in Devices for the Manufacture of Paper; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full,-clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to-the accompanying drawings, making part of this speciiica tion, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, like letters indicating like parts wherever they occur.

To enable others'skilled in the' art to, construct and use my invention, I will proceed to describe it. m

My invention relates to machines for the lmanufacture of paper, and consists in the construction and arrangement of certain and improved mechanical devices for drawing or extractingy the surplus water om the pulp while being carried on the endless wire apron to the couchng-rolls, as well as for avoiding a large portion of the wear upon the wire apron necessarily attendant upon the ordinary process.

In the drawings- Figure l is a View, in perspective, of 'my machine; Figure 2 is a'view, in perspective, of a modification of the same machine, with an interior sucking-chamber; Figures 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, l0 are views, in perspective of parts detached; and Figures ll and 12 are views of parts detached.

In the ordinary process of making paper now in j use, thewater is sucked from the pulp, as it is carried on the endless wire apron from the vat to thecouching-rolls, by square suction-boxes. `These boxesdraw the endless wire apron down upon its edges with such force as` to-'cause great friction as it passes along. This `friction wears out the apron rapidly, making itv necessary to renew., it every little while. The object of. my invention is to secure equally eflicient suction without the same wear upon the endless wire apron,

`and in this way cheapen the cost of manufacturing paper.

I construct a water-box, A, out of any suitable ina-` teri'al, and of any desired size and shape, preferring the shape shown in iig. 7. This water-boXA, I make with Y a Alongitudinal opening at the top, and with a subchamber, X, at the bottom, provided with a dischargepipe, T, as'shown in `iig. 7.

This water-box A, I, provide with an opening, W, as shown in iig. 5, which leads into the s ubechamber X,

-and the longitudinal edges of the opening on its upper side, I provide with adjustable packing-plates I, ar-

ranged so that rubber packing Z may be inserted andheld between the plates I and the edges of the opening,

and so that the whole may be bound together by' set` heads B', in theends of the water-box A, and'in each end of the perforated cylinder and within it I place Between the water-box A and the perforated cylI'n-' der B, I place the concave plungers J Q.. These plungers consist of twp pieces, Q, with packmg J between them. vThey are constructed to fit closely between the sides of the water-box A and the cylinder B, so

as to prevent the-passage. of any air or water. Their ends come up flush with the edges of the opening of the water-box A. There are two of these concave plungers, one in each end of the water-box A, and, in connection with the plungers C, form an air-tight partition. They are provided with two rods, E, which pass through openings, u, in the heads of the water'- box A, and outside of the water-box they are connected by a bar, H, which serves to hold them parallel, and are also provided with screw-thread and nuts for adjusting these plungers J' Q.

The solid rods, G, of the plungers O, outside of the water-box A, I also provide with a screw-thread and nut, a, for adjusting 4the plunger C.

Either of the heads of the water-box A, as well as of the perforateddcylinder B, may be made adjustable for the purpose of putting my machine together, or of taking it apart, and the joints must be allprovided with suitable packing.

In operating my machine, I adjust the plungers C and the concave plungers J Q, so as to leave the space intervening between them equal in Width to the width of the paper to'be manufactured, arranging the plungers so as to make coutinuouspartitions at each end of the water-box A and the perforated cylinder B. I then place the machine between the upper and under sides of the endless wire apron, which carries the pulp from the Vat to the couchin'g-rolls and forms the sheet. This endless wire apron I allow to rest upon the perforated cylinder B, and to bear lightly upon the packing-strips Z held in place by the packing-plates I.

The pulp is then permitted to low uponA the Wire 'sucked hom the pulp, through the wire apron, as it passes over the perforatedcylinder B. The water thus sucked out of the pulp, passes down,.through the opening W, into the sub-chamber X, Vand out through the aperture T. vDuring this process I continue to supply with water the water-box A and the perforated. cylinder B at each end, and on the rear side of the plnngers, so as to exclude the air.

In this operation, as the wire apron is drawn, in its onward movement, against the perforated cylinder B, it rotates it, and thus prevents friction or wear, and as it bears lightly on the partially-yielding packingslips Z, it is obvious that the water can be sucked from the pulp without the usual rapid wearing of the wire apron.

The same result I accomplish by a modification of my machine. Instead of partially surrounding my perforated cylinder B with a water-box, A, and using the plnngers G a-nd the concave plungers J Q to operate together, as above described, I mount within the perforated cylinder B a suction-box, YV, with its ends proiided with tubular joiu'nals N, which pass through tubular hubs I), in the heads F of the perforated cylinder B. This sucking-box XV, I make oblong, and of suiiieient length to reach from one end of the perforated cylinder to the other, and with its upper side open, and I so mount it within the perforated cylinder that the edges of this upper side will come in coiiitact with its interior surface, or nearly so, as shown in fig. 2. Around the upper edge of this sucking-box IV, and a little below it, I place a packing-plate, I 11,'a-nd on this plate place rubber packing Z, so as to encompass the sucking-box W, and to hug the interior sm'- face of the perforated*cylinder B sufficiently closel to be air-tight.

XVithin the sucking-box WI, I place two plungers C, one in either end, as shown in ig. These plungers C- are made of plates, with packing between, them and shaped to iit closely in the sucking-box W, and to press closely against the part of the perforated cylinder B that may be opposite the open side of the sucking-boxfas shown in iig. 2. These plungers are connected to tubular rods, K, which pass thronghthe tubular journals N, in the heads, M, of the suckingbox, and on to the out-side of the perforated cylinder B, as. shown in figs. 2 and 8. One of the heads of the perforated cylinder I make adjustable for convenience in putting my machine together, and all of the joints or bearings in the heads I make air-tight with suitable packing. The tubular rods K communicate directly with the space g betweenthem inthe sucking-box W.

If desired, the rubber packing may be held against the interior of the perforated cylinder B, by placing springs 7i. between them and the packing-plate P y, as shown in g. 10.

When this modification of my device is used, I moun it in standards L, so that the tubular journals N, connected with the sucking box XV, may rest in bearings o, and be fastened by a setscrew,j, as shown in iig. l2, and allow the perforated cylinder B, the tubular hubs P of which do not reach the bearings o, to rotate freely about the sucking-box \V.

rI his machine, thus constructed, I place, as in the other case above described, between the upper and under sides of the endless wire apron, adjust the plungers C by means of the tubular rods K, so as to make the intervening space between their heads in the sucking-box W to correspond with the width ,of the paper to be manufactured. As before, the pulpis flowed on to the wire cloth, and with the cloth is carried over the open side of the sucking-box W. At the same time suction is applied to the outer ends of the tubular rods K by siphon-pipes or other convenient devices, whiclr cause the water to be drawn or sucked from the pulp through the wire cloth and perforated cylinder.

In this case, as in the other, as the endless wire apronl or cloth moves forward, it is h'awn by the suetion down upon the perforated cylinder, and causes it to revolve; and as they both move on together, it is obvious that in this case there is not only less friction than in the other, but that nearly all friction is avoided.

Having thus described my invention,

\Vhat I claim isl. In the manufacture of paper, the method of sucking the surplus water from the pulp formed into la sheet on the wire cloth as it passes `to the couch-roll, substantially as herein described.'

2. The perforated cylinder B, when constructed and arranged to operate substantially is herein described, for the purpose of avoiding the wear ofthe wire cloth in the manufacture of paper.

3. The water-box A, perforated cylinder B, circular plungers C, concave plungers .I Q, packing-plates I, and packing Z, when constructed and arranged substantially as herein described, and for the purpose set forth.

4. In combination with the perforated cylinder B, the sucking-box 'W, with its plungers C, when constructed and arranged substantially .as herein described.

Witnesses: ELIAS T. FORD.

J'. MCKENNEY, H. B. MNN. 

